D&D 5E Big Cities

[JWO]

Does anyone have any advice on how to run big cities? My players are about to head to a big bustling Middle Eastern metropolis and I'm starting to feel some trepidation about it. With so much going on, how do you keep track of everything and how do you present it to them? With a dungeon, the options are limited but in a city it's almost endless...

 

[iserith]

I like to keep it simple and tight:

Describe the city's character in as few words as you can to get the important points across - keep it pithy and evocative using words that excite the imagination and invites exploration. Ask your players to make known their major and minor goals while in the city. Place challenges/obstacles in the way of those goals that speak to the nature of the city in more detail as those scenes unfold.

Do not fall into the trap of playing out every second of every day, dealing with mundane issues. Cut to the chase, skipping time as needed to get to the conflicts with the occasional scene for color that sets up a future conflict.

 

[BigVanVader]

One of my DMs has the entire world as like a Pangea sort of situation. And so we only find one of two things: Poor, piss-ant villages with tribals and primitives. Or, we walk into giant, bustling Aztec or Mayan-like metropolises, in which weirdness reigns supreme. It's really cool.

Just throw visuals at them, constantly, all the time. Be like Apocalypto, remember that movie? That movie was awesome, Gibson really knows what he's doing.

 

[Trit One-Ear]

My group just finished a big period within a city, so here are a few tips I can give from my experience.

*Sketch out broad-scale details, about the city and some individual areas. Are there large market areas? What kind of residential neighborhoods? What kind of races are present? What colors/building materials are commonplace?
These are only as important as you need them to be, but giving the heroes some descriptive qualities helps the city stand out in their minds. From there, I made some basic districts/quarters/neighborhoods, each with its own feel or purpose. When heroes asked me "Where would we find this?" I could direct them to a specific area of the city, which in turn colored their actions and responses.
Once you get all that, focus on what the story needs to move forward. Yes, there is a lot that happens in a city, but if a labor strike or the thieves' guild doesn't help you move your story forward, those things can happen in the background (and not even be touched on with the players). Only what you and the players decide is important is... well, important.

In general terms, while a dungeon is more of a setting, a city is more of a backdrop. While for a dungeon you know the stats of every creature, trap and hazard inside, with a city you can get away with more general knowledge and make up the details as you need them.
Lastly, bear in mind that a city is big enough and alive in a way that if you need something to happen for the sake of the story, you can almost certainly get away with it. There will always be areas of the city you have left undefined to be your new black market/holy site/mages guild etc.

Trit

 

[ExploderWizard]

Cities are fun!!

1) Sketch a basic map. Doesn't have to be detailed, just enough so you can fill it up with stuff as you go.

2) Decide who is important here/ in charge and how things run.

3) Make note of any cool ideas that come to you about people places or things in the city.

4) Have a few stock stats prepped: guards, merchants, thieves, priests, etc.

5) Let your players explore. As they ask for details make them up and note them on your map for consistency. You can always add new places of interest as needed.

6) If the players end up spending a lot of time there, make sure the city continues to change and live. Places burn down, new buildings are constructed, people die from natural causes, and new children are born every day. Have things constantly happening and make sure the city never seems still.

 

[Thyrwyn]

Here's how I approach big cities, and preparing them to interact with the PCs;

1) as iserith said, describe the city as succinctly as possible. What is its character? What is it known for? What is it really like? What are the buildings made of (stone, brick, adobe, clay tile roofs, etc...)?
2) Break the city up into smaller districts. Make each district distinct in character, and understand how they relate to the overall character of the city. What makes this district different? Who lives here? What happens here? Why? Are the buildings here subtly/glaringly different? I like to create a map/sketch of the city at this level - even if it is only several blocks smushed together.
3) Then I like to look at the city from the other direction: Where do the poor live? the wealthy? the merchants? the foreigners/non-dominant races? If necessary, I adjust the flavor of the districts accordingly.
4) Prepare your set piece encounters/areas. If the PCs are here to meet the Governor, know where the governor's mansion/villa/palace is, what it is like, and what the people inside it are like,etc...
5) Prepare a few 1-2 sentence descriptions of some shops and inns, and their proprietors - don't place them anywhere, just have them ready. When the PCs look for an inn or a shop, adjust the descriptions as necessary to fit the district they are in. MAKE A NOTE where you put anything the PCs encounter, so you can come back to it later if you need to.

ALWAYS use Sights, Sounds, and Smells to describe where they are, and how they change as they move through the city. Use all three all the time.

 

[Sunseeker]

A lot of cities are homes, the players really have no need to be wandering around the suburban districts. A lot of fantasy cities have 'districts' based on wealth or some other status. Without an escort, special dispensation or the appropriate status and wealth, there could be significant portions of the city that are completely gated and off-limits. Remember that a city is really a conglomeration of smaller towns around some sort of central feature, a castle, a magical artifact, a holy site, etc...

Basically my short answer is: instead of throwing the players into one mega-city, break the city down into more managable chunks. Only allow access to certain sections for specific reasons, but place things in those sections to make the players want to jump through the requisite hoops to get there, ie: the rich part of town has better stores that sell cooler stuff. The poor part of town has access to shady dealers for players to get counterfeit papers, but guards will treat the party more suspiciously if they're seen regularly coming and going from these areas, and there is an increased risk of attack and thievery if your players have significant wealth.

Historically, most towns had a "visitors district" or "commerce district" rarely were non-nationals or the common folk allowed any further into the city. This is what I would introduce your players to fist, a sort of mish-mash market that is essentially a bazaar surrounded by tight, low-class housing. It would allow you to limit the players initial interaction with the city, and allow you to better plan for what section of the city they want to visit next.

 

[ninjayeti]

First, I would do a very rough, high level map of the city. Don't draw the streets, just the shape of the city divided into a few districts - e.g. beggar's quarter, artisan's district, market square, temple row, etc. Mark down important locations in the city and any locations relevant to the adventure you are running. This can be done in 10 minutes, but it adds verisimilitude if you know the city's general geography. If players want to go to a temple for healing, now you know they will need to go east from their inn through the artisan's quarter to the street of gods, or whatever.

Second, come up with a few interesting encounters or locations that give the flavor of the city. If you want to emphasize that this city is dirty, don't just say it is dirty, have someone empty a chamber pot from a second story window as the PC's pass and make a random character make a Dex save to avoid splatter. If you want to emphasize it is corrupt, have an encounter with some guardsmen trying to solicit a bribe. Having a few short encounters like this can make the city seem alive, without having to do a ton of work.

Finally, only do detailed write ups for locations and NPCs relevant to the adventure, plus maybe an inn or other base of operations. Anything beyond this you should be able to ad lib as necessary.


Hope this helps!

 

[JWO]

This is all such excellent advice, thank you all.

Unfortunately the next session was postponed, but it does give me a bit more time to prep stuff...

 

[Hand of Evil]

• Steal from real life cities; things like history, landmarks, districts and maps.
• Timeline the city, why is it there? Cross road, port, center of the kingdom, mines, etc. See the one about stealing from real life.
• Wards and districts - break the city down, most player will never enter some parts. Think about how each district looks, smells and the people you see in them.
• Power groups - these are the people that control the city. Do a simple power level on them, this is are they greater than the other people. Answer two questions for them, what they want and what they do not want? Everything they do will be based on the answers.
• Nickname the city - this is what it is know for. You can also nickname the wards.
• Day-to-day cycle - just a quick time line of when events happen in the city. Things like the fleet comes in every spring and fall. There is a murder every night but a noble is murdered every six months. Smugglers bring in there goods every ten days, ship out every thirty. People are paid on the first of the month. They go to work at 7 AM and go home at 7 PM. This is helps builds common gossip and background.